She Returns
by jesssxo
Summary: The war was over. Finally, there was the peace in the world that everyone longed for. Aang however, felt like he wasn't done his job as avatar. He wanted to go see the world again. Spread the word that the fire nation has been defeated and that their deadly threat was no longer among them. They visit the North Pole first. To find out an old friend has returned.
1. She Had Her Eyes

The war was over. Finally, there was the peace in the world that everyone longed for. Aang however, felt like he wasn't done his job as avatar. He wanted to go see the world again. Spread the word that the fire nation has been defeated and that their deadly threat was no longer among them. This was a new beginning, the start of a new life. This was a second chance.

Katara was now one of the greatest waterbenders that ever existed; Aang mastered all four elements and knew his place in the world. Toph was legendary back in the earth kingdom due to her being blind, and still one of the greatest earthbenders in the earth kingdom. Sokka and Suki were complete masters when it came to swordsmanship and warrior fighting. Zuko was now the fire lord. He knew his duty was to stay in the fire nation and guide his people into being a peaceful nation it once was. Everything was right in the world. Everything felt balanced and felt free. The world was now how it should've been. Everything was right.

"So where do you want to go first Aang?" Katara asked, tying her hair into a ponytail. She and Aang have gotten closer since the ex fire lord was defeated. They were now a couple, as well as Sokka and Suki.

"Eh, I don't know. I was thinking maybe we can go back to the North Pole. We haven't been there in forever." Aang answered her, lying down on the hard ground next to Appa.

That sentence felt like a stab in the heart for Sokka. To the group, the North Pole is a beautiful, legendary place. But for the southern water tribe boy, it was nothing but a painful memory he's been trying to avoid. "I don't know Aang, the North Pole is…um...a little cold, and Suki and Toph don't have the proper clothing to go there." He spoke out, not wanting to make it obvious he didn't want to go.

"Hey, we're good. Suki and I aren't little babies. We can handle a bit of cold. Plus, Katara has extra coats, we'll be fine." Toph explained as Suki nodded in agreement.

"I still think it's a bad idea. We should take it easy for a few days. We need rest. We can't just start something new right away." Sokka snapped at them, sounding defensive.

"What's with you?" Suki asked her boyfriend as she walked to him, hugging him from behind, trying to comfort him.

"Nothing." Sokka nudged away from her embrace and walked away slowly, leaving Suki and the others with confused looks on their faces.

"He's lying…" Toph said softly.

_ Yue…Yue wake up._

"Hmm…?" The tribal princess awoke, to be greeted by Tui, the original moon spirit. They were somewhere Yue has never seen before. They were surrounded by pure darkness. The only light that shone was Tui's white glow. She, however, didn't shine like she used to.

"You're free Yue. The fire nation has been defeated, and I have regained my original power. You are no longer needed to restore the balance in this world. You can be mortal again, if you desire." Tui explained with a slight smile.

Yue paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to respond. "I…" The princess began, but couldn't even finish her sentence as the feeling of being overwhelmed filled her as tears built up in her eyes. They were happy tears. She could finally go back to the life she had before her sacrifice. She could be able to be seen again, see the people she loved again... see Sokka again.

"I'll take that as a yes." Tui responded. "Princess Yue, thank you for your sacrifice. We will meet again." Tui spoke for a final time, before slowly beginning to vanish.

"Wait! How do I-"But it was too late, Tui was gone. "Get back…?"She sat in deep thought. _Now what? What do I do? Where do I go? How do I get out of here?_

But out of nowhere, the princess felt a sort of pain she's never felt before. She felt like something was getting pulled out of her. Like something was fighting to be let out. Her head became light, as the pressure built up. She then passed out.

The Gaang was now flying on Appa. They ignored Sokka's request to not go to the North Pole. They took a vote, and went with the majority.

"How long have we been flying, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked, extending her feet in the air to stretch them out.

"Two days. But don't worry, we'll be there soon. We're really close." Aang smiled at her. "But Toph, won't you be blind? The whole place is ice. You won't be able to see at all." Aang added, sounding concerned about the blind earth bender.

"Way ahead of you. I have this!" Toph said, pulling out a medium sized boulder from her bag she had lying next to her with a huge grin on her face. "It's the meteor Sokka gave me when he was making his sword back in the fire nation. I'll just bend this wherever I walk." She began as she bended the rock into various shapes "It's simple. I'll just keep steping on this and that'll be enough. Plus, this space earth works wonders. It's so much easier to see with this. It's like magic!" Toph giggled while putting the rock back in her bag, then looked in the direction of Sokka and smiled. "Thanks for giving it to me."

"Yup. You're welcome." Sokka said, turning his head away from the group. He felt hurt, angry and frustrated. Not only did the group completely ignore Sokka's request to rest a few days so easily, but going back to the North Pole was something Sokka never wanted to do after he lost the woman he loved. The group thought he forgot about her by now, but he didn't. He knew he could never forget her, he knew he would always love her no matter what. That was one of the burdens Sokka carried with him every day. He knew he should only be in love with Suki, Yue's dead. But it didn't change anything. He stilled loved Yue. The hole that was ripped out of his heart the day she died was still there. He longed to see her again, to hold her again, and to feel her lips on his again.

"We're here!" Katara squealed from excitement as Appa flew over the protective ice gate and landed on the cold icy floor. "Urgh, it's beautiful! It hasn't changed a bit."

She was right, Sokka thought, it hasn't changed at all. It looked the exact same as it did before the siege of the north happened.

"What are we standing here for? Let's go look around." Suki said, getting off Appa and pulling Sokka down with her. Toph already was down; testing the meteor Sokka gave her and walked on it. Suki could tell she could see just fine with it and saw the expression of happiness and shock on her face when she felt how big and beautiful it was.

"Let's go guys!" Aang called out, as the group began to walk and roam the city, leaving Appa at the gate where northern water tribe children started playing with him.

Sokka had nothing but memories and flashbacks scream through his mind. He remembered walking in the area the group was standing on trying to ask Yue to 'do an activity' with him, then falling into the water. He still felt the butterflied he had when she agreed to go out with him.

"This place is beautiful." Suki said, gripping Sokka's hand.

"Yeah...she is…" Sokka whispered to himself as he remembered what he said when he saw Yue for the first time. He was trying to keep it together. He hated being in the North Pole. All he wanted to do was run away from it as fast as he could. He felt so much pain in his heart. They've only been there for five minutes and already he thought he just couldn't handle it. He felt lost. His emotions were scattered. Not only did he already feel terrible because he felt like he was betraying Suki for loving another, but also betraying Yue for being with someone else.

The Gaang continued to walk the path. But didn't notice Sokka's silent, single tear roll down his cheek as he stared at the ice floor.

"Urgh…" Yue woke up. She felt dizzy, like she was hit in the head a million times. "Where...where am I?" She raised her hand in front of her face.

Yue then realized where she was. She was at the spirit oasis in the North Pole. A smile came across her face as she felt the best she's ever felt in a long time. She no longer glowed, floated or was transparent. She was human again. The dizziness she felt wasn't important anymore. All she felt was pure happiness and joy like she didn't care what else was in her way.

She stood up on her feet and stumbled a bit due to this being her first time on solid ground in a while, but eventually getting her balance back. Her white hair hung down her chest and was still in her usual braids and loopie at the top of her head. She noticed she was dressed in her royal water tribe coat. The one she died in. She wanted to go see her father, but knew if she went out in public, she would scare her people by her being back from the spirit world. She died. She was still dead to her tribe. She touched her fur coat and new she couldn't go out with this. Her people would notice her. They knew how she dressed, and how her hair was. She had to do some fixing.

After a while, Yue looked at herself in the pond. Tui and La were still circling each other in an eternal dance. She smiled and looked at her reflection in the water. She removed her hair ties she had and stuffed her loose hair in the back of her dress, trying to hide the white color. She managed to completely transform her coat into a light dress. The fur was now thinly around the hood of the dress and going down her chest, hugging her body and showing off a small amount of curves she had. The dress remained long and the original purple-blue color. She put the hood on, completely covering her forehead, making sure no hair showed, and only exposing her deep blue eyes.

She glanced at herself one last time, making sure no one would recognise. "Okay…" she confirmed her disguise was decent enough, then looked down at the grass at her feet. She felt nervous; she hasn't seen her dad in what seemed like forever. She needed to leave now and get to her home as fast as possible.

Yue left the spirit oasis and was now roaming the ice streets. She saw the gondola she once road on before she died. She saw the bridge she once went to, to look at the moon. That was the bridge Sokka and herself had their first kiss with each other. She felt like a dagger went straight through her chest and her eyes filled with tears, remembering the memory of the boy she still loved. She couldn't even see properly. Her vision was now extremely blurred due to the amount of tears she tried to keep from falling, but she continued walking anyway. She saw figures walking in her direction. She yanked on her hood and pulled it down harder; making sure nothing was shown to reveal her identity. She counted the amount of figures she saw. Five people and they were completely blocking the pathway she needed to go through, but decided to just try and squeeze by them, as she approached, she harshly wiped her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears she had. She wasn't going to let her people see her cry. When her eyes recovered from the pressure, the five people were making her way around her.

_Is that….Katara? _ She thought to herself as she passed a water tribe girl. _No. No it can't be her. Avatar Aang is in the fire nation. They just won the war. What could they be doing in the North Pole? They can't be here. Use your common sense. _ She brushed the thought off her mind and continued walking, trying to get passed the others.

"Ouch…" She whispered as she was nudged by a boy. Clearly not watching where he was going.

"Sorry, I-" The boy spoke, looking at her, then stopping as if he got the wind knocked out of him.

She too looked up to see what he had to say. Then she saw him. She knew that face better than she knew her own. She felt her heart sink into her stomach as her body became tense. She ran away.

He didn't even bother to look up. What was the point? All he would see were memories and heartbreak. All he could think about was her. The North Pole was like a black hole to him. He saw no point in being here.

He walked behind everyone else, while they admired the city he once thought was beautiful.

He noticed Suki, who was closest to him, move toward the side of the path. Not thinking about why she could be doing so, Sokka kept his way and didn't move an inch.

Then he felt a small, yet firm nudge on his shoulder. He knew he hit someone.

"Sorry, I-"Then he froze.

His eyes narrowed. His heart rose to his throat, his head became dazed as the woman's eyes looked back to his. He knew her.

The girl ran off, Sokka still stood there watching her. He felt like he couldn't move, like he was frozen there for eternity. His eyes became heavy as they filled with water. _No, Sokka. Not here. Not now. Not in front of your friends. Keep it together. _He told himself the same thing over and over. He refused to let the tears fall.

"Sokka, why'd you stop? Did that lady hurt you or something?" Toph asked as she felt the vibration of Sokka stop in its tracks, causing the Gaang to put their attention on him. Still, his eyes remained still at the path the girl took.

"Sokka? Sokka!" Aang asked as he waved his hands in front of his friends face.

"Sokka, what's wrong? What happened?" Katara asked her brother.

The group formed a circle around him, still curious and worried about what he was experiencing.

"You look like you've seen a ghost or something…" Suki added.

"She…" Sokka whispered, and hung his head low, looking back at the floor, causing the group to lean in closer to him.

"She had her eyes."


	2. I Need You

"She had whose eyes?" Aang asked Sokka, still concerned about why the watertribe boy saw.

Sokka didn't say anything. He continued to stare at the icy floor at his feet. He couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't going to say his dead ex-girlfriend is back to life, he'll sound crazy. There's no way she came back. She couldn't have.

"I'm going to the chief." Sokka said, and walked forward, leaving the rest of the group behind him.

"Sokka, get back here!" Katara called out to him, but Sokka ignored her.

Sokka didn't know what to think. He just continued walking, alone and lost in his thoughts. He knew what he saw. He knew who she was but he also knew it was impossible. That's why he wanted to go to the chief, if Yue was back, she would've gone straight to her father.

.

Yue continued to run. She didn't know why, but she felt like she couldn't stop. She had tears streaming down her face. She knew it was Sokka, and for some reason, she felt like she couldn't approach him. What would he think of her?

Yue stood in front of her old home she once had and began walking up the stairs leading to her door. She was still trying to think of something to say to her father. She couldn't just walk in and say hello. She needed an explanation that made sense.

"Hello? Father?" Yue called out, walking into her palace and removed her hood from her head, showing her white hair.

"Who's there?" She heard a voice call, she knew the voice. It was her father, Chief Arnook.

"Hi dad…" Yue whispered.

"Who's there? Don't let me call the guards."

Yue looked up and saw her father walking out of the shadows of the hallway. He hasn't changed a bit. He still wore his traditional northern fur coat, and still had the same hair style.

"No…" He spoke.

"Father…"

"It can't be… is that you, Yue?"

"It is… I've returned…I'm here."

"Yue..." Her father spoke after running to her and pulling her into a hug.

Yue felt her father's warm tears on her face. She's never seen him cry before. They just stood there for what felt like hours, gripping each other and crying on each other's shoulders.

"How Yue…How'd you come back…?" He asked his daughter, still holding her.

"It's a long story." Yue told him, as they broke their embrace and walked through the icy palace as Yue explained what happened.

.

It's been an hour since Sokka started walking to the Chief's palace and finally got to it. He ran up the stairs and slammed the doors open.

"Chief Arnook?!" Sokka yelled out. He still was fighting to hold back tears. Her name echoed through his mind.

"Sokka? Is that you?" Chief Arnook called out as he walked into the room."Sokka! Wow, it's good to see you."

"You too. I came to ask you an important question. It's about your daughter." Sokka took a deep breath. Talking to the chief was harder than he thought.

"What about princess Yue?"

"I saw something today…someone. And she resembled her."

"You saw her?"

"Well…no, but the person I saw had her eyes. Chief, I know it sounds crazy, but I have a feeling it really was her. I know those eyes better than anyone."

"Sokka…I-"

"I need to know if it really was her. I believe if she was back, she'd come here first."

"Yes, I agree with that but-"

"So this brings me to my question."

"Sokka, I understand your concern but-"

"But nothing, Chief. Is Princess Yue here?"

There was then a long silence. They stood there in silence and to Sokka's realization; he had tears dripping down his face. He didn't even notice, yet he didn't wipe them off. It felt like time was stopped. Sokka's heart was pounding against his chest, nervous to hear what the chief was going to say next.

"I'm sorry, Princess Yue isn't here." Arnook finally spoke, but it wasn't what Sokka wanted to here.

"But-"Sokka began, then choked on a sob he didn't even know he was holding back. His tears were still flowing. "Do you think maybe, she did return? She just didn't come here? Maybe she's roaming the streets. I know what I saw. You have to believe me."

"I think it's time you go now. I have place for you and your friends to stay near the main bridge at the canal. You may stay as long as you want."

Sokka didn't even bother to say anything. He just left without a word. He knew that something was wrong with the chief. He knew he was hiding something.

.

"Father?" Yue asked from behind him.

"Yes, Yue?"

"That was Sokka wasn't it…?"

"Yes, but darling, you must understand, you can't show the world you're back yet. It'll scare your people and who knows what other problems it will cause. Let the Sokka and his friends settle in. You need to approach them at the right moment."

"Okay…" Yue said quietly and went back to her room and laid down on her bed. It was getting late. She needed her rest.

.

"What took you so long Sokka?" Toph asked the boy as they started to unpack in the place the chief told them they could stay.

"Nothing. I was just talking with the chief, catching up on things." Sokka answered, unpacking his sleeping bag and lying down on it.

"C'mon, you've been a boring, mopey mess ever since we got here. Lighten up and have fun, what's wrong with you? You're usually so sarcastic. Where is that?" Suki said as she took Sokka's hand in hers.

"I'm fine, Suki. Okay?" Sokka replied to her and removed his hand from her grip.

"Fine." Suki finished the conversation and ran out the door to the outside.

"Sokka, What is it…? I can tell you're upset…" Katara said to her brother. She always hated it when he was hurting.

"Are you that blind?! Come on Katara use your head! We're in the North Pole. Think back to the last time we were here. Think about what happened. It's not hard." Sokka snapped at Katara, causing her to flinch.

"Sokka, relax. I don't know what your problem is but you don't have to take it out on us." Toph said back to him.

"Fine." Sokka said and left into another room and slammed the door.

"What's wrong with him?" Toph asked Katara and Aang, hoping for an answer.

"Princess Yue is what's wrong with him…" Aang said quietly. He sat in a corner at the end of the room in a meditating position.

"Who?" Toph asked.

"Princess Yue was Sokka's first girlfriend, She died a while back because the fire nation killed the moon spirit. It all makes sense now. That's why he's been like this. I can't believe we've been so blind. Sokka's dying on the inside and we didn't even notice. What kind of friends are we?" Katara asked herself. She was now curled into a ball and had her hands on her head.

"But, that was before you guys met me. That means it was a way long time ago. Shouldn't he be over her by now?" Toph said, sounding concerned

"When Yue died, a part of Sokka died. He hasn't been the same since. I knew a part of him still loved her, but I didn't know it was like this." Aang spoke, still sitting in his corner.

"It makes sense though," Katara said. "Sokka's been holding him pain back all this time. It's finally coming out all at once. That's why he's so constantly miserable."

"So, someone go talk to him." Toph added, lying on her stomach as she stretched out and yawned.

"I'll go." Aang got up and walked towards the door, and knocked. There was no answer, so he decided to walk in.

Aang saw Sokka on the ledge on an open window watching the glowing orb in the sky. The moon shone and was up in its original place surrounded by the bright stars.

"I know it hurts, Sokka." Aang tried to comfort his friend and sat next to him on the ledge.

"You don't know. She died right in my arms Aang. She and I, it felt so right, I felt like we had it all. I was there for her when she needed me. I was there when the sky was nothing but darkness. But when I was at my worst, where was she? Dead." There was a pause, "Because I couldn't protect her"

"Don't say that. You did everything you could've done. She would have sacrificed herself either way. She had to do what she needed to. She knew her destiny, Sokka. She did it for her people, the world and for you. You need to remember that."

"And what about what I saw today?"

"The girl you ran into with the hood?"

"Yeah. Those were Yue's eyes, Aang. I'm sure of it. She's here. I can feel it."

"Sokka, don't get ahead of yourself. Yue became the moon spirit. Someone can't just return like that from the spirit world."

"I know what I saw, Aang."

"Sokka, but-"

"No, Aang you don't get it. I've been on my knees this whole trip. It's killing me just being present in this place. You told me you had my back. Why is this so different?"

"What about Suki?"

"Don't ask me about that, please. I don't know."

Aang then heard Sokka sniffle as he covered his face with his hands and leaned forward.

"I'm going to find her, if you don't want to help me, fine." Sokka spoke in a low, serious tone.

"What if you can't find her? Sokka, you can't get your hopes up like this."

"If she really isn't here, I'll still be on the lookout for the girl I saw earlier."

"Okay. Goodnight, Sokka. Try sleeping a bit" Aang said as he walked out the door.

Sokka sighed and continued watching the moon. He could've sworn it looked different. He didn't know what it was, but he felt like something was missing from it.

"I need you." Sokka whispered to himself as he crawled onto a blanket on the floor, still looking out the open window, feeling a light breeze on his face as he drifted to sleep.


	3. Penguin Sliding

Aang was awakened by Momo licking his face. The sun was just rising and the rest of the group was still asleep. He noticed that Suki also came back last night. She was sound asleep in her sleeping bag. Aang walked towards the window and used Appa's bison whistle to alert the bison to come to him. He looked back at his sleeping girlfriend, Katara and blew her a kiss before jumping out the open window with Momo and landing on the big fluffy animal.

"Good morning buddy" Aang told the bison "we're going to the palace. I need to set something straight."

The sun began to shine into the princess's room. Yue couldn't sleep that night. She feared that if she slept, she would be sent back to the spirit world and be stuck there. There was too much on her mind at the moment.

"Good morning, Princess." She heard a man's voice enter her room.

"No…" She said as her eyes narrowed and she bolted upright. She knew who it was. Her ex-fiancé, Hahn.

"Aw, what is it? You don't want to see me? Come on Yue, you and I both know why I'm here. You owe me a marriage."

"I don't owe you anything. How do you even know I'm here?" Yue sat against the head board on her bed and carefully watched him.

"What do you think? Your dad told me. Look Yue, I don't want us to be enemies. I at least want to be friends with my wife, don't you think?" Hahn sat at the edge of her bed, causing her to get tense.

"I refuse to marry you, Hahn." There was a pause "Where's my father?"

"Out. He left after he told me the whole entire story about how and why you came back from the spirit world. He said he had a few things to take care of."

"Get out of my house Hahn, Please. I can't deal with this right now." Yue got up and walked towards the door to escort him.

"Yue, Your father wants us to get married when he announces your return to the whole tribe. You can't ignore this."

Yue froze. Her father wouldn't do that to her, he loved her and she knew that all he wanted to do was make her happy.

"You're a liar, Hahn." Yue told him, refusing to believe what he said. She looked him in the eyes with a harsh glare.

Hahn didn't say anything. All he did was walk towards Yue and placed a light hand on her cheek causing her to back up against the wall.

"You can't change this, Yue." Hahn whispered, still having his hand against her soft face and leaned in, kissing her forehead.

"Get away from me!" Yue yelled and ran out of her room and down into the main hallway.

"Look, you need to just accept it, you always just keep hoping someone will save you, but Yue, this is reality. You can't just-"

Hahn was cut off by the front door being blown open.

"Chief Arnook? We need to talk." The boy called as he walked right in, he had an animal Hahn couldn't identify sitting on his shoulder.

"Aang!" Yue called as her face lit up and ran toward the boy, jumping on him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"

Hahn then knew exactly who it was, the Avatar, the last airbender to ever exist. He never personally met him, but he remembered when he was in the city a while back.

"Yue? No way, is it really you?" He asked her, pulling her off him and gripping both of her shoulders and examining her. "How'd you get back?"

"Tui regained power. I'm free Aang. It's really me." Yue laughed and hugged him again. This time, Aang hugged her back.

As they finished their embrace, something landed on Yue's head as she reached up and picked it up to bring it down to her level.

"Momo!" Yue's eyes sparkled as she pet the lemurs head as it leaned into her touch.

"When did you get back?" Aang asked her, still shocked that Sokka was right.

"Yesterday." She answered with a smile.

"I'd hate to interrupt this conversation but I really must be going. Avatar, Yue, it was a pleasure." Hahn strolled passed them and began walking out the door.

"Hahn." Yue called "This stays between us. I'm still dead. Okay?"

"As you wish, princess." Hahn said back sarcasticly with a bow and walked out.

"I can't stand him…" Yue mumbled under her breath.

"Wasn't that your fiancé?"

"Yeah,"

"Wow. Some people never change" Aang chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Worst thing is, I'm marrying him in a few days." Yue said and looked down at her feet.

"What? Why?"

"My father apparently made arrangements. I don't really know."

"Oh, Yue, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine Aang, really." Yue gave him a smile and then got serious. "How's…how's Sokka..?"

"Honestly, a mess. Yesterday, after he saw you, he couldn't stop obsessing over whether you've came back or not."

"Oh…"

"Come with me, Yue. You guys need to see each other. I'll take you to the group. You guys can catch up. We'll take Appa. He's outside waiting right now. Let's go." Aang said with a smile and grabbing the princess's hand and pulling her out the door.

"No, Aang. Hang on." Yue said, pulling her hand back. "I can't. I'm going to see him at the right time. I'm not sure when that would be, but I know it's not now. Just please, don't tell him I'm here."

"Alright, but you can't stay here all by yourself. C'mon, let's go do something." Aang said and tossed Yue her coat that was hanging on the wall. "I think you need to have some fun."

"Alright, alright" Yue giggles as she put her coat on and pulling her hood on tightly around her head, once again making sure none of her white hair was showing.

They left the icy palace and went outside, to be greeted by a huge fluffy beast.

"Appa!" Yue squealed as she ran up to his face and rubbed the bison's face. "It's good to see you again."

The bison growled playfully and licked the princess's face as she laughed and whipped his saliva off with her sleeve.

"You ready?" Aang asked the princess as he climbed up the bison.

"Mhm." The princess answered and hopped on the bison's sattle. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Penguin sliding!" Aang beamed and flashed the princess a huge smile.

The princess smiled back, as they took flight in the air.

.

Katara got up and stretched her arms out, causing her to yawn.

"Well, good morning sleepy head." She heard Toph call out.

"Wow, Toph. Usually I'm the one that wakes you up." Katara joked and got up out of her sleeping bag. "Where's Aang?"

"He's not here. I think he left before we woke up. You know how he is." Suki said as she handed Katara a plate of eggs. "Here's your breakfast. Toph and I already ate."

"And Sokka?" Katara asked

"He's in his room." Toph answered, pointing to the closed door. "But he's awake."

"I'll go check on him." Katara got up and walked into the room her brother was in. "Hey there."

"Good morning." Sokka said, showing a light smile. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. How about you? Are you okay?" Katara sat down on the floor next to her brother.

"I'm better."

"Are you going out today?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'll be back before dark. I promise." Sokka got up and went out the door.

"Morning Snoozles." Toph joked

"Morning" Sokka said back with a smile

"Here, I made you breakfast." Suki said, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and placing a plate of eggs on the table in front of him.

"Thanks." Sokka said and started to dig in.

"You seem happier today, Sokka." Suki told him.

Toph nodded her head. "Yeah, what gives?"

"Nothing, I just have a good feeling today, that's all." Sokka answered.

"Good feeling? How?" Katara asked her brother.

"I think I'm going to find what I'm looking for."

"Aang, that was amazing!" Yue said. She and the avatar were on Appa again going back to the palace.

"I know. I had fun." Aang told her. They've only been out for an hour due to the princess not wanting her father to know she's been gone.

"Thank you." Yue said, looking at Aang with a smile. "This was the best time I've had in forever."

"You're welcome, Yue. You deserved the fun." Aang said as he looked up at the blue sky. "You're going to stay at your house?"

"Well, yes. Where else am I going to go?"

"You know, the offer to come with me back to the others will always be there. Just tell me yes and we'll be off."

"Thank you Aang, but not yet. I'll let you know if I change my mind."

They landed at Yue's doorstep and waved goodbye as snow started to fall. Yue felt happy for once. She felt at peace, but all she could think about was Sokka. He was all the hope she had.

Aang got off Appa and went into the house the group was staying in through and open window.

"Hi there" Katara said from behind him

"Hey" Aang turned around and gave his girlfriend a quick kiss.

"Where've you been? We've been worried."

"Oh, I went penguin sliding with Y-"Aang stopped himself and panicked. "Uh, I went penguin sliding with Appa and Momo. I needed some time with them." Aang said as Momo flew in on his shoulder.

"Okay. Just, next time you go out, let us know."

"Will do." Aang finished and sat onto the floor next to Toph, taking Momo in his arms.

"Twinkle Toes…" Toph whispered.

"What?" Aang asked the blind earthbender

"Why'd you lie?"

Aang stayed quiet. He didn't know how to answer.

"Hey guys." Sokka said as he walked into the room they were in. He was wearing his coat.

"Sokka, I don't think you should go out today." Aang spoke to the boy.

"Why not?"

"Look outside." Aang nudged his head to the open window as Appa growled.

It was snowing and the winds were harsh as they knew a storm was starting. There was a complete change of weather in the matter of five minutes. There was no way anyone was going out for a while.


	4. Taken

Yue walked into her house. She felt at ease, even though she knew she was to get married in a few days. All she wanted to do was talk to her father and try to set things right. She knew Hahn wasn't going to let her slip from him that easy, he wanted royalty, but she also knew who she wanted to be with, and that person wasn't Hahn. Flashbacks were the only thing going through her mind as she became lost in her thoughts.

"Yue?" She heard a voice behind her, causing her to jump and snap out of her gaze, turning to face the person. It was just her father.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you walk in." She said, looking at the floor.

"Come now, what's on your mind?" Chief Arnook walked and sat on their living room floor as Yue sat across from him.

"Hahn came over." Yue spoke, bringing her knees to her chest.

"Did he tell you the news? You two are to be married when we announce your return. What's a better way to celebrate it?"

"Father, please. I don't think this is a good idea..."

"What? Why not?"

"I...I think I'm in love with someone else."

"Someone else? Who?"

There was a pause as the air began to felt thick to Yue. "Never mind, I don't know what I was talking about. I guess I'm just a little nervous about getting married. Everything's just happening so fast, that's all." Yue stopped to take a breath. "When am I coming back to life?"

"Tomorrow, we'll have a nice ceremony and the tribe will be beyond thrilled." The chief went over to his daughter and hugged her tight. "I'm so happy you're back, Yue."

"I know, dad. Me too" Yue hugged him back.

"You know all I want is to make you happy, right?"

Yue didn't answer, all she did was get up and walk towards the door. "Is it okay if I go out for a quick walk? I promise I'll cover up. No one will know it's me."

"There's a storm outside, Yue. I don't think you should."

"I'll be careful. I promise." With that, she grabbed her coat and left.

-x-

"I'm not going to let a little snow stop me from going out." Sokka said as he got up off the floor of their temporary home.

"No, Sokka, c'mon. It's dangerous." Suki said as she got up as well.

"Yeah, it's freezing out there. Wait until tomorrow." Katara spoke out as she bended an ice tent over Appa outside next to the window to keep him from the cold.

"No. guys, I can do it. I'll be back before the sun sets." Sokka said as he walked to the door and opened it. There was someone already at the door outside, causing Sokka to jump.

"Alright," The man said, walking in. "I've been sent by the chief."  
Sokka knew exactly who it was. Hahn. He was automatically filled with hatred and anger. He didn't want to see him.

"Sokka? Wow. Haven't seen you in a while." Hahn laughed sarcasticly and walked towards the group. "I've been sent to invite you personally to one of the biggest events of a lifetime. The whole tribe will be there."

"Oh yeah? What, are you finally leaving the North Pole?" Sokka snarled and gave Hahn a dirty look.

"Ha, you wish." Hahn said back, winking at him. "Just be there, okay? Especially you, Sokka. I think you'll get a real kick out of it. Tomorrow night."

"Hahn." Aang spoke out. "Can you come here for a minute?" Aang opened the door to where Sokka slept the night before and walked inside, with Hahn walking behind him.

"What's up?" Hahn asked.

"What's up? It's princess Yue's returning ceremony tomorrow, isn't it."

"Well, aren't you smart."

"Are you trying to kill Sokka's spirit? You know how he feels about her. Don't you think he should see her before she's announced?"

"No. It was a long time ago. He should be over it, don't you think?"

"Stop it, Hahn" Aang took a breath. "You're overstaying your welcome."

"Alright, alright. See you at the ceremony." Hahn opened the door and walked out. "See you all tomorrow. Don't miss it, Sokka, I think you'll enjoy it the most."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked him.

"You'll see." Hahn said as he walked into the cold outside, closing the door behind him.

"What's with him?" Sokka asked the group.

"Forget about it, we shouldn't go." Aang said as he walked towards Sokka.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm going, we all are."

"It's a bad idea." Aang said, as he grabbed his glider. "C'mon. We're going."

"You're going to come with me?"

"Yeah, let's go." Aang opened the door with Sokka behind him. He wasn't going to let his best friend see the person he loves like this. They deserved a proper greeting.

-x-

The blowing snow and winds were harsh on Yue. The tribal princess felt weak and powerless. She's never been caught in a storm like this before; she didn't know how to fend for herself. Back when she was a spirit, she didn't have to worry about the weather; all she had was the moon and her memories.

"Urgh..." The princess groaned as she fought her way through the piercing winds of the storm. She couldn't feel her face, ears, or hands due to it being so cold. She had somewhere to go, and that was the spirit oasis. She wanted to have contact with Tui, the original moon spirit again. She felt like she needed guidance, advice or just a friend. She felt alone, helpless and scared. She had no one. She knew she couldn't keep Aang from telling the secret of her being back from his friends for long. She wouldn't do that to him, she couldn't.

Yue finally got to the gateway of the spirit oasis. She had a short path to cross before she could get to it, but her vision suddenly got blurred as she got closer to it. It was like the oasis was poison to her body and it was trying to keep her out of there. None the less, she kept going.  
The princess found it difficult to keep her balance. The winds would knock her off her feet at times due to her being so weak. She found herself crawling in the deep snow because she couldn't support her own weight.

It became unbearable for the princess. This was a feeling she's never felt before, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Like there was no air left to take in. She kept crawling, stumbling, and being tossed back and forth by the winds, until she finally reached the door.  
Yue grabbed the door handle and clung on to it for dear life and pulled. But it was frozen shut. Her being completely out of strength wasn't helping either. She tugged as hard as she can but it wasn't working. Her vision was completely out; all she could make out was the white and grey colour of the snow and winds around her.

Her body went limp, as she felt her energy get drained right then and there. She felt that her heart was going to give out, or hypothermia will get her due to her coat not being as thick and protective from the snow as it originally was.

She took a breath one more time, and tugged on the door of the spirit oasis in a final attempt. To her luck, it opened. And everything stopped.

The storm brewed, but Yue felt nothing. The loss of feeling in her body was back to normal, the cold slap of the winds in her face was gone and she felt automatically better. Just like that. She wasn't cold, she didn't feel unstable, and she felt fine. She pulled herself up out of the snow and got herself through the door to the oasis, leaning on it and turning to face her favourite place in the entire North Pole. She finally felt at home.

-x-

"Sokka!" Aang called out to his friend, who was trotting through the snow in front of him "we have to go back! It's way too dangerous!"

"We have to keep trying! C'mon!" Sokka yelled back, still trying to fight himself through the storm.

"No. Sokka let's go! We need to!"

"I have to know if it's her!"

Aang stayed silent, he understood who Sokka was talking about. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He understood how badly it hurt losing a loved one.

"I'm sorry, Sokka. But I don't have a choice." Aang said as he airbended Sokka towards him and used waterbending to slide them back to the group for shelter.

When they finally got back, Aang shut the door behind him and put Sokka down. He could tell Sokka wasn't happy with him, but he couldn't do anything else. The storm was too intense.  
Momo went to Aang and sat in his lap as they both lied down on the warm floor. The group didn't say anything; nothing was needed to be said. They just all sat in silence and snuggled up to each other to keep the body heat they had. They wanted to wait out the storm and hope for better weather soon.

"So you're going to wait until tomorrow?" Toph asked, being in between Katara and Suki in the middle.

"No, I'm going to wait until the storm stops. If it'll be today, I'm going today." Sokka said back.

"Why're you so obsessed with this? Who are you looking for?" Suki spoke, turning to face her boyfriend.

"Nothing. It's just someone I knew." Sokka got up and went into his room. "I'm going to try sleeping." With that, he closed the door, leaving Toph, Katara, Aang and Suki there.

"So, it's not just someone he knew, was it?" Suki asked as she looked down at the floor.

"Well, technically yes," Katara said. "Her name was Princess Yue, last time we were here the fire nation invaded and Yue unfortunately lost her life to become the moon spirit."

"So is she the one he says he couldn't protect?"

"Yeah, Sokka told you about her?" Aang asked, as he turned to face Suki.

"No, but one night he told me about how he lost someone he cared about." Suki paused. "He always had an interest in watching the moon at night."

"Even though she's been gone for a while, Sokka never forgot about it. We all thought he was okay, he was never one to show his feelings, but I guess now that we're here, it's all coming out at the same time. He's just overwhelmed, that's all." Katara said. Her eyes were full of hurt. "She's back, isn't she Aang?"

"I wanted to tell you. She told me not to." Aang closed his eyes and took a breath "it's her returning ceremony tomorrow and during that, she's getting married to Hahn."

_-_x-

Yue sat at the edge of the pond and watched the two koi fish. She sat in a meditating position and took deep breaths. All she wanted to do was make contact with Tui.

"Tui? Please. I need to talk to you." Yue spoke, but there wasn't an answer. "I…I thought I could do this, but I feel like I can't. I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know why I'm so terrified of approaching the people I care about. I feel numb, Tui. I need your guidance. I need help. Please."

There was still silence. The fish continued to circle each other, without any difference in the princess's surroundings.

"Well…wasn't that heart breaking." A voice said from behind the tribal princess. She didn't recognize it at all. The voice was deep and sounding evil and full of hatred.

"Huh?" Yue turned around to see a brown sac flinging in her direction as it wrapped around her head and whole body. She let out a scream and felt her body get lifted off the ground. She's never been in this position before. Nor has she ever been captured.

"Let me go!" Yue struggled in the bag she was in; she couldn't see anything, only darkness.

"Sorry princess, I'm afraid you don't have a choice but to come with me." The voice said. Yue could hear the man's footsteps, it sounded like they were boarding a contraption of some sort.

She then was thrown onto a metal floor. Her body thumped on the floor as she felt a pair of hands grip her wrists from the inside and pulled them outwards, tying metal chains around them, forcing her upright on her knees, she still had the bag over her head. She heard a door shut.


End file.
